


A Miraculous Set of Partners (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

by SilverDash1999



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen, I Blame Tumblr, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Falling So Hard For This Fandom, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Please Don't Kill Me, There's Going To Be Dead... (One that sadly I cannot avoid for the plot)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-23 14:50:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7467519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDash1999/pseuds/SilverDash1999
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Hawk Moth getting desesperate, and the akumas growing stronger, Master Fu is forced to take a risky decision.<br/>Some Miraculous have been unused for a long time... Now, it's time for them to shine along Ladybug and Chat Noir as the newest heroes of Paris.</p><p>Warning: (Contains: An oblivious model, a clumsy teenage girl, a shy artist, a diva queen, a blogger girl and a best friend with DJ aspirations)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Day in the Life of a Shy Artist (Chapter 1)

**Chapter 1**

It was a normal day in Paris… As normal as it could get when you live in a city where each week, a new maniacal villain appears looking for revenge, causing destruction everywhere they go.

Classes had been cancelled for that same reason. The authorities had started to evacuate any place that was somehow near to the ‘ _Le Grand Paris Hotel’_ ; where a new akuma was giving the duo of heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir a really bad time. Its name was King Midas, and he had the power to turn everything he touched into solid gold.

Luckily for every citizen, the always opportune news crew was at the site of the battle, filming everything they could **“This is Nadja Chamack reporting live from where a battle between our local heroes and a new villain, is taking place. From what we had seen, the akumatized citizen is no one else but Bob Roth, manager of Jagged Stone until today, when he was fired after a heated argument between the rockstar and the manager himself”**

As she talked, the camera man focused on what was going on. They could see how Chat Noir was dodging every punch the former manager was throwing at him, and trying to get a clear hit with his baton; while Ladybug tried to tie his hands with her yo-yo the best she could. Even though they were fighting like one being, this akuma was resulting pretty difficult to defeat **“To all our viewers, we advise you to stay away from the North side of Paris, or better yet, stay inside your homes until the authorities deemed it necessary.”** The female reporter tried to sound professional, but she was truly scared as a well calculated punch from King Midas went directly to Ladybug side, turning part of her waist into the golden material and throwing her out of the picture and into a wall

**(Now, maybe you should be thinking: Akumas? Ladybug? A freaking yo-yo? What’s all that about? Well… first, let me explain: Paris is a beautiful city, but it has it downsides. One of those downsides is the constant apparition of Akumas. An akuma is a butterfly-like creature that transforms ordinary citizens in supervillains. (Creepy, right?). Luckily for the innocent citizens of Paris, they tend to be defeated by a duo of superheroes called Ladybug and Chat Noir.**

**Both of them got their abilities from a piece of jewelry named ‘Miraculous’ (A pair of earrings and a ring, respectively), which holds inside a kwami, who helps and cares for its owner, giving him or her the power to transform into a superhero**

**Got that memorized? Won’t forget it? Good, now we can continue)**

 

* * *

 

 

The battle only lasted a few minutes at most. But those were the longest minutes he had ever experienced.

Ladybug and Chat Noir fight the villain, _bla bla bla_ ; They find a weakspot and exploited, _bla bla bla_ ; find the akuma, purify it and fix all the damage, _bla bla bla._

Nathanael Levesque had already memorized all the routine of the famous heroes of Paris. He didn’t even need to look for two moments at the news to know how was the battle going to end. Even though the villain of this week seemed pretty tough, he knew that it was only matter of time before either Chat Noir or Ladybug got hold of the object where the akuma resided and save the newest victim of Hawk Moth.

It was pretty funny seeing all the people freak out each time one of Paris’s super-duo appeared. Even funnier when his classmates would bang their heads into their tables trying to figure out the identities of their idols, only to come up with crazy theories, like Chloe being Ladybug.

Even when the answer was in front of them, they were too blind to see it for themselves:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste

After been akumatized, he had started drawing Ladybug and Chat Noir a lot more, and after a few sketches he found out that Marinette and Ladybug had the same body structure.

(The perks of having a photographic memory)

All he had to do was put a mask over Marinette’s face and Ladybug made an appearance. He was in the middle of a science lesson when he found out about it, and he had laughed so much during class that he had been sent home. After that, guessing Chat’s identity was easy as pie. He only had to make Adrien’s hair messier and give him a mask and voila: The cat was out of the bag.

Not that he would sell them out. No. Never. Not in his entire life.

He could imagine the many problems having your secret identity revealed could have on somebody and he wasn’t going to be responsible if something like that happened. Actually, he helped them to keep it covered without them actually knowing it. Something so easy, like leaving the door of the storage room open, or leaving the Art Classroom unlocked was all it took him to help them.

Being the shy and quiet redheaded teen in the back of the class was an advantage on that matter. Nobody would ask him what he was doing on the corridors alone or why did he had the Art Classroom key (To be fair, the teacher had given him full access to that room whenever he need it). Although, it bothered him that nobody would say hi to him or that they didn’t remember his name several times (Deciding to call him Tomato Boy, because of his hair) or when people forgot about his birthday... again.

Or when they only came to him when they needed a drawing or to help them study, because _‘the Tomato boy doesn’t have anything better to do than drawing and make silence’_. No sir, he actually had many other things to do, like… like… Like being with Alix, Juleka or Rose! Those three had always included him when they hang out. He was glad about it, but sometimes they were too girly for him (Juleka and Rose, not Alix. She would give him a run for his money when it comes to be manly)

Anyway, back to the matter in hand…

Nathanael was inside his house, not entirely sure of what to do. Thanks to Ladybug and Chat Noir, the streets of Paris were back to normal and everybody was free to do whatever they wanted once again; the teenager artist was really looking forward to go to the park and draw some of the people in there, but in the other hand, he was expecting his parents to call him from their trip.

Nathanael’s parents where a happy and loving couple; however, they worked a lot and had _too little_ time for their son. And when they had time to spend with him, they would ditch him in the most _delicate_ way (A note on the fridge and a box of paintings) and take a holiday couple somewhere around the world. They would talk to him through video-chats, but he didn’t really like to answer them and seeing them having the fun of their lives. _(_ Last time, they were in Miami, Florida. Right now? They were somewhere in the Cairo) _._ It was always like that… The bright side was that at least they would bring him souvenirs… like **_EVERY. OTHER. SINGLE. TIME!_**

They were supposed to call him through his laptop at seven o’ clock. And he really wanted to know how they were doing. They weren’t bad parents, they sent him money to make the groceries, were some of the few people to remember his birthday and cared for him. But he just wanted them to be with him. Nothing more, nothing less.

It wasn’t until eight o’ clock when he stopped waiting and left his parent’s house (Which was more his than theirs) with his backpack and his sketchbook. If they weren’t going to call him, he might as well do something else. However, he couldn’t deny that he felt a little disappointed

Sometime later, he found himself in one of the benches of the park, drawing a sketch of a father and a daughter playing near the trees. It was a happy picture, but it made him long for something he never had the chance to do. He had already draw a few more pictures, like one of the Lieutenant Roger looking around, or the one with Rose, who was by the side of a dark-skinned boy with olive eyes. (Honestly, he had no idea who the guy was, but he looked important, that’s for sure) _._ At the rate he was drawing, he might as well get a new sketchbook.

Drawing had been his best way to forget his problems. Making sure the lines were perfect and capturing the distinct angles of an image tended to ease his mind. Even when people said that his art wasn’t that good, he had never given up on it. It was one of the few things he was good at it. (The other ones being the fact he knew how to play a handful of instruments and how he knew five different languages)

He was around his drawing number six of the day when a tiny old man in a red Hawaiian shirt, caqui shorts, a staff and a light brown hat took away all the concentration he had. Apparently he had told Nathanael something, but he had been too focused in his drawing that he hadn’t heard him.

 **“E-Excuse me sir, I didn’t r-really paid attention. C-Could you repeat that please?”** The redhead said shyly at the stranger.

 **“I said: Isn’t this a nice day?”** The elder person repeated with a warm smile

 **“Um… Yeah I-I guess so”** Nathanael stuttered. Why did he always had to be so shy around people?! He blamed his parents in this one. The elder glance at the sketchbook, with a sudden interest in his eyes

 **“Are you an artist?”** He asked in his Chinese accent as he took a seat next to the teenager

 **“Well, yes, I-I mean, it’s not like I’m a good artist or anything. Most people think my drawings aren’t… that good, but I’m trying to do better so people like Chlo…e…”** he rambled but quickly stopped when he realized what he was doing. A blush appeared on his face, embarrassing him more than how he already was. _‘Why do I always have to lose my cool around people!’_ He screamed internally

The old man only stroked his goatee as he thought about what Nathanael had said **“May I see?”.** Nathanael had stood there, not knowing what to do.

Actually, he had an idea of what to do: he wanted to leave that place and return after the elder was gone because seriously, the man was giving him a weird vibe. But he decided against it. Nathanael wasn’t rude to anybody (Only to Chloe) and the old man was actually asking for his permission, instead of stealing the book and show it his classmates (Like Chloe) _._ So after a few moments of thinking, he handed it to him

The elder took a look to his drawing, starting for the newest: A drawing of Alix, Juleka and Rose, who were smiling (In the case of Juleka, it was a tiny smile) as they ruffled the hair of Nathanael, who looked slightly annoyed, but with a smile on his face too. A smile crossed his face as he remembered that exact moment. Even the old man gave a smile at the drawing.

He continued to admire his drawings, sometimes stopping to look at one of his sceneries or when the drawing of Marinette and Adrien with their respective mask appeared. The elder looked at these with wide eyes, but didn’t mention anything. However, he did let out a laugh as the Marinette’s Section appeared on his sketchbook. Nathaniel blushed so hard that his skin looked as if it was competing with his hair to see which one was redder.

He didn’t put attention to what the elder had to say about that one, but he did manage to catch a few words like ‘young love’ and ‘In my era…’

Finally, he came to stop in his biggest drawing. It took two pages and it was Ladybug on one page, and Chat Noir on another. Both of them surrounded by Akumas, reaching for each other. However, around where their hands were connected, a bunch of white butterflies were painted. Both heroes had a determined look on their faces. It gave the aura of them being in trouble for a moment, until you catch a glimpse of the Akumas around their bodies, which were a lighter shade of purple, with white details. That’s when the elder realized that they weren’t in trouble. No, quite the contrary. They were cleansing the evil from the butterflies. The closer they were to their hands, the whiter they looked.

It was beautiful…

 **“You… You made this?”** The elder asked in awe as he glanced at the teenager, whose face was as red as a tomato. He only could nod, as he waited for the old man opinion, expecting him to be something bad or how his art style wasn’t worth it.

But when the old man handed his sketchbook back to him, he said **“You are truly talented, boy. Those are some really nice drawings”**

This caught Nathanael off guard **“Y-You really think so?”** he asked with incredulity and disbelief **“You’re actually the first one to say that in a long, long time”** He dragged the last ‘long’ to make emphasis.

 **“How can I not say that! Those drawings are some of the best I had ever seen in my entire life. And believe me, I have lived a long time”** The elder said with a light smirk on his face. Nathanael could have sworn he heard something laugh from under the man’s hat.

The elder man stood thinking for a few moments, until he opened his mouth to request something **“Can I ask you to draw something for me? This old hands aren’t what they used to be”** He said as he glanced at his hands **“It’s something small, so it wouldn’t take long.”**

Nathanael was so happy that moment that there was no way he couldn’t deny the old man a request so simple as that one. He didn’t even need to be paid. The man had made his day, for God’s sake! And he wanted a drawing… **_A freaking drawing!_** He was going to cry of joy!

He has asked him to draw two fishes. One black with white details, and the other one white with black details. It was a little difficult, since he had never done a fish before, but after the old man had showed him a picture of what he wanted, his photographic memory took hold of the situation. Soon he had a nice drawing of two fishes with the same characteristics, swimming behind each other in a pond. Sort of like a Ying-Yang symbol

When he gave it to him, his eyes lighten up and a big smile took over his face **“That’s exactly what I wanted! How can I repay you, young man?”** He said in a cheerful tone. Of course, he wasn’t going to ask for anything.

 **“It’s free! You don’t have to give me anything”** Nathanael quickly dismissed with a happiness he didn’t have before. After that he went back to his usual self and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly **“I was feeling down, until you came here and made my day, Mr.?”** He asked the last part, noticing he hadn’t even asked for his name.

 **“Oh, where are my modals! My name is Fu, Master Fu.”** He said with a gentle smile, showing there was no problem. He extended his hand, hoping for the boy to shake it.

 **“Nathanael Levesque”** He shook hand with Master Fu almost instantly. It was then that he saw the time on his clock, completely ignoring the strange look the old man gave him as his hand made contact with his. He had arrived to the park at 8:30 am, but right now, it was 4:00 pm?!

 **“Oh God… I spend eight hours here?!”** He yelled in surprise **“Sorry Mr. Fu, but I need to leave, like, right now!”** He said while standing up from his seat, quickly packing his belongings, hoping not to sound to rude. **“It was a pleasure to meet you, sir!”**

 **“But wait! I haven’t even paid for…”** Whatever Master Fu was about to say, was lost in the wind, as the redhead zoomed past him at a speed you wouldn’t believe he had **“…the drawing…”** he sighed

Seeing that nobody else was around him, the old guardian tapped his hat a few times **“You can come out now Wayzz, he is gone** ” he said to whatever creature was in there.

The hat started floating, and plopped back to its place, as a green creature with yellow eyes, a shell on its back and a single antennae floated next to him. **“Did you gave him the Miraculous?”** he asked curiously

 **“No, he left before I was able to”** he explained to his kwami, as the creature sat on his hands. Somehow producing a bag from out of nowhere, he gave the Turtle Kwami some apple slices to eat

 **“And, was he worthy of it?”** He said as he took a bite from the food his master had given him

Master Fu closed his eyes, recalling the feeling he had the moment he felt the energy from the boy **“He was selfless… and he definitely had a pure heart. I saw what happened when he was akumatized… It was… interesting”** He remembered seeing how the boy ignored most of Hawk Moth orders, just to have a date with the one he loved. And only after Marinette had betrayed him, he started acting like a normal akuma. **“He is pretty clever, too. He guessed Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s identities by himself”**

The kwami nodded at that piece of information, but he knew his master was still keeping something from him **“But?”**

**“He was lonely and had little confidence.”**

**“Well, I guess that settles it then”** the kwami said as he stood up from his owner’s hands and flew back into his place on the hat, only poking his head to keep talking with Master Fu

**“Not yet my friend. Now that I got the chance, there’s still something I want to see before giving it to him”**

**“What happened?”**

**“He was possessed by an akuma. I just want to see if his heart is as pure as it seems… Just to be sure. I don’t want to commit another mistake with this one”** He explained as he took a black box from one of the pockets on his pants and took a good look at it. The Miraculous inside of it, radiating with energy, as if knowing that it would finally have a new owner after so long; and that made Master Fu inexplicably happy

 **“I believe we can think of something. Now, what about if we return to the shop? We don’t want you getting hurt after all”** The kwami offered worriedly with a laugh, to what his master only laughed harder

 **“Oh Wayzz… I’m might be old, but I’m still able to move if I want to”** And to prove his point he tried to stretch his back, only for it to cause him a lot of pain **“Ouch!... I guess… that some rest wouldn’t be a bad idea”** he laughed nervously

 **“Okay, tiny steps… use your staff.”** The green kwami reminded his master as the pair made their way home. Tomorrow a new hero would be born… Today, they’ll let the boy rest.

Before leaving the park, Master Fu took a look once more at the drawing Nathanael had gave him. It reminded him of the fishes he had back in China, before he had to move to Paris to find the new Chat Noir and Ladybug. The boy had captured the calm and serenity of the place he once called home.

 **“A nice drawing indeed”** was the last thing the old man said before walking into the streets of Paris, and quickly blended with the crowd of people in the city.

 

* * *

 

 

 ** _‘OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! I’M SO LATE! SHE IS GOING TO KILL ME AND STUFF MY HEAD INTO HER WALL!’_** Those were the thought inside Nathanael's mind as he runned like there was no tomorrow to his house. At his house, a girl with spiky pink hair and a backpack on her back; another girl with long black hair, with a purple stripe covering half of his face (Pretty much like how a part of his hair covered one of his eyes) and a tiny blonde girl with a pink dress were waiting outside. Alix was fuming, meanwhile the other two were chatting lively.

‘ _There they are’_ a sigh escaped from his lips ‘ _Just act natural, tell them that you lost the track of time and **OH GOD, HERE SHE COMES**!’ _ he thought as Alix stomped her feet, walking directly into his direction **“Where were you?! I thought something bad had happened to you when you didn’t answer my messages! Did you forget that we were going to spend the day with you?!”**

 **“You send my messages?”** Nathanael squealed as his face turned as red as his hair.

 **“Yes I DID! But did you read them? NO!** ”

Nathanael gulped as he tried to think for some sort of apology **“I-I’m sorry, I-it won-won’t happen… Please don’t kill me…”** suddenly, he felt small and helpless in front of Alix, who was looking at him with a maniacal grin

 **“Okay! Apology accepted!”** she spoke with such happiness, that Nathanael found very hard to believe that he had been threatened by this girl just a moment ago

 **“Just like that? Not even a single punch?”** the redheaded boy asked suspiciously at his friend. Or maybe she was in that time of the month with the mood swings and all.

 **“Of course not! Now I know it won’t happen again… But if it does…”** Her face turn dark as her tone became dangerously quiet, she leaned into his ear and spoke **“I’ll let Rose spray you with her new cologne. I head it’s called ‘** **Fleurs d'eau en Automne’** **”**

 **“Alix, leave Nath alone”** Juleka put a hand on said girl’s shoulder as she spoke in her always calm voice **“He must have done something important and lost the track of time”**

 **“What about if we go inside his house and talk about this in _private”_** Rose added to the conversation in her cheerful tone **“There, we can scream all we want without attracting unwanted attention”** She eyed Alix, who had done most of the shouting **“Yeah… We can talk with him inside… As I crush you all playing video-games!”** Alix shouted as she waved his backpack in the air, where a set of videogames was being held. The group of girls squealed in excitement as Nathanael gave them a big smile and opened the door to his house.

They spend all the afternoon playing videogames (Rose was pretty got at it, managing to beat Alix a few times) and making Nathanael blush as they talked about how _‘Marinette this’_ and _‘Marinette that’_. Juleka had ordered some pizzas and a salad for him (To what Nathanael was grateful for, since he was vegan) _._ It was a nice and funny day, as the old man had said.

Once the sky started to darken, the girls waved their goodbyes to the redhead (Alix sort of punched him in the arm playfully, but still… it was painful), leaving the boy alone in his house again, but definitely with a really good humor. _‘If only it was always like this’_ he bitterly thought.

An hour later he was laying on his room with his laptop on his lap, looking at the news. Just as everybody was getting ready to sleep, a new akuma had appeared. This time, Volpina was beyond mad, doing everything in her power to defeat the super-duo of Paris. It didn’t surprise Nathanael, though.

Ever since she had been akumatized, she had been so angry and nobody could stand being near her (And those who were near her, ended with some nasty bruises). Marinette tried to befriend her once, but stopped trying when she yelled at her to stop being so annoying. (Marinette wasn’t annoying! She was sweet and caring... and... and... he should stop thinking about her for a moment) _._ Some people had this weird theory, that Lila still had an akuma inside her, and that’s what was making her so unstable. Nathanael pitied her, because having an akuma inside of you wasn’t a nice feeling. Maybe if she just striped being so rude to everybody, he may try to befriend her... until then, he was better off at the back off the class... safely away from her.

Again, Nadja Chamack was bringing the news from a safe place for her own safety. In the distance, you could see blurs of red, and orange fighting. The cat was probably there too, but since the sky was pitch black, he was really difficult to see.

The battle ended when Volpina made a false step, letting the yo-yo of Ladybug wrap around herself. Not even her illusions were able to help her this time as Chat Noir broke her necklace and the polka-dotted heroine purified the akuma. It was shot lived; but it was without a doubt a very close fight.

With nothing else to do, Nathanael turned off his laptop and resigned himself to sleep. Fully expecting classes to resume tomorrow and not wanting his grades to go down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave reviews. They always help me to be a better writter and it inspire me, knowing that people are interested in my works.  
> With a smiley face, :) I log out, until the next chapter.
> 
> SilverDash1999 out.


	2. A Day in the Life of a Shy Redheaded Artist (Chapter 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a work in progress. I'll probably be changing a few things over here and polish some mistakes over there. But this is mostly done
> 
> Until the next time... SilverDash1999

**Chapter 2**

The next morning Nathanael woke up with a drowsy smile as he remembered the events of the last day. He was hoping, from the bottom of his heart, that today was the same as yesterday. He got out of the bed and prepared his breakfast. Since it was too early for school yet, he took his time, making for himself some pancakes and fruit. He took a shower and dressed on his casual clothes: Jeans, some gray shoes, a red T-shirt (His favorite band) and his gray jacket (A gift from his father). His hair was just like he wanted, too.

Oh boy, it was true. For the first time in a long time, Nathanael Levesque had woken up in the best humor he could had. But of course, something had to damp his happiness: His parents were calling. He had many reasons for not answering, but in the end he resigned to accept the call. Possibly it was only them in a hotel room and not in a beautiful beach or some ruins.

A window opened up on his laptop and suddenly, Mr. and Ms. Levesque were looking at the camera with their big, radiant dentist smiles… And another boy (Some years older than him) was with them. They seemed to be in some kind of restaurant.

 **“Son! It’s great to see you!”** Mr. Levesque said with an excessive happiness as her wife didn’t stop bouncing on her place **“Hello, Dad, nice to see you too”** He responded with a small smile

His mother couldn’t stand more and let loose and avalanche of words as she described the things they had done **“Oh, darling there’s so much we want to tell you. Yesterday, your father took us and Addai to the Saladin’s Citadel and it was so beautiful! The structure of the Fortress was magnificent and we saw this great statue of one of the goddesses…”** She was about to say something more, but the redhead had to ask a very important question.

**“Addai? Who is Addai?”**

**“Oh, we haven’t present to you to him”** said his father as he pointed the dark skinned young man next to them, who seemed more interested at the menu in his hands **“He is Addai, he is a tourist like us! Wonderful company. He was travelling alone so we offered him to be part of our group. Isn’t that great?”** he said to his son with an excited attitude

It took all of his willpower to keep a smile on his face and avoid the tears that were starting to form in his eyes. _‘Don’t get angry, don’t get angry, DON’T GET ANGRY! You don’t want to let the Evil Illustrator out…!_ ’ He took a breath **“Yeah… that’s great dad”** If they heard the hurtful tone of his voice, they decided to ignore it **. “Look, school is about to start, so I need to leave”**

 **“So soon? But if we haven’t spoken in weeks”** His mother whined and his father looked at him with a confused look.

 **“I know, but I have a chemistry test today and I can’t be late”** He quickly made up an excuse. Luckily for him, his parents seemed to bought the excuse, meanwhile Addai glanced at him with a sympathetic look

 **“Oh… and here I was hoping you would talk a little more with us”** said her mother with a fake pout. **“Do your best, Nathy. You’ll make us proud”**

 **“Don’t worry son, we’ll call you tomorrow. Be safe”** The father spoke as a waiter arrived to the table

 **“Love you, darling”** her mother replied with a kiss, and she started a talking with Addai, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there for the sake of Nathanael. They hung up, leaving the redhead with his thoughts:

** Number One: They didn’t apologize for not calling yesterday. Thing that he found very rude. **

** And Number two: They were spending their time with another person, but they didn’t have time for him. Talking about hypocrites… **

Nathanael loosed all his good humor in a matter of five minutes.  A new record!

He left his house muttering under his breath about how unfair his life was, as he walked towards the school with his backpack over his shoulder and his green sketchbook on his clutched in his arms. Paris streets were a little bit empty, but they wouldn’t last long like that. A few minutes later after leaving his house, cars, trucks and citizens were already occupying the roads, so Nathanael had to be careful to see where he was going.

 

 

* * *

 

 

A few streets ahead, an old man was waiting for a certain redhead to pass by, so he could put his plan into action **“Master, is he close?”** Wayzz asked from his place under the hat of Master Fu. Said elder was reading a newspaper at a bench in the street, the headline of it was an image of Chat Noir and Ladybug, slightly bruised, but with a de-akumatized Lila by their side. The title of the headline said: **“Latest Akumas getting stronger.  Are our heroes enough?”**

 **“He is getting closer, but I can feel lots of turmoil coming off from him. What could have happened for him to be like this? I have no idea”** The old master said with a calm voice

 **“Well, that’s good! That way we’ll know for sure if he is truly worth it of a ‘Miraculous’”** the Turtle kwami said excitedly **“What better than a test in a moment of weakness?”**

 **“Nothing my old friend, we just have to make sure he is alright once he accepts the gift”** Master Fu closed his eyes and took a deep breath **“He is almost here, remember the plan?”** the elder warned

 **“Yes!... I don’t like this plan…”** the green kwami admitted

 **“Neither do I, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. And those two…”** He pointed at the image of Paris’s heroes in the newspaper **“Need all the help they can get”** At that moment, a truck appeared on the distance and Master Fu walked towards the other side of the street as slowly as he could. Not once stopping to see the vehicle, which was getting closer and closer.

It was then when Nathanael turned on the corner that leaded to Master Fu. He was still muttering curses under his breath and stood on the sidewalk with a dark scowl waiting for the traffic light to change to **‘WALK’.** It was then when he realized of the old man in the middle of the street, unaware of a truck that was about to run over him. All his anger gone, replaced by worriedness over the old man’s life

 **“Mister! Watch out!”** he tried to warn the elder, but he didn’t hear him. The truck was getting closer and nobody was doing anything to stop it. Finally, Nathanael decided to act, and dropping his sketchbook into the ground, he dived forward, tackling the elder into the safety of the sidewalk of the other side of the street. The truck running over the place they had been standing a moment ago. Surprisingly, the old man’s hat didn’t fell from his head.

 **“WATCH WHERE YOU GOING! YOU ASSHOLE!”** he shouted to the driver, who continued his way without bothering to stop. He was panting with adrenaline, which dropped down as soon as he let his guard down; however, his turquoise eyes were still wild for the whole situation.

Right now, the old man was his priority.

Something on the elder was familiar to him: Red Hawaiian shirt, caqui pants, nice jade bracelet… short height.

 **“Master Fu! Are you okay?!”** the young artist asked worriedly, remembering the old man who had asked him for a drawing the day before.

 **“I think so… The nerves of that driver”** he complained as he glanced to see the face of his savior **“Ah! young Nathanael, you saved me”** he said calmly, like if being saved was something common for him.

 **“I did? Ah y-yeah, yes I did”** He took a moment to compose himself **“Are you alright Mr. Fu? Should I call an ambulance?”** he offered, but Mr. Fu waved off

 **“No, no, I’m alright. I think that fixed my back thought”** He said, as he tried to stretch again. A crack sounded and Mr. Fu let out a sigh of relief **“Oh finally, that spot was killing me”**

 **“Uhm... Mr. Fu, it was nice to ‘ _see’_ you again, but I really need to get going** ” Nathanael excuse himself, a little nervous of the outcome of the situation ‘Why does everytime I see him, I’m late for something’ Nathanael thought

 **“Then what are you doing here?! Run!”** the old guardian let him go with a grateful smile.

 **“Right! Take care Mr. Fu!”** the redhead said before taking off. Master Fu returned to the bench he had been before (This time he walked at his normal speed) and took a seat, but not before picking up the sketchbook that was laying forgotten in the ground. A new drawing was added to it of an old man with a Hawaiian shirt looking at the distance. He couldn’t help but smile at it

 **“So… When are we giving the ‘Miraculous’?”** the green kwami said from under the hat.

 **“Today”** Master Fu informed to his companion **“I’m sure an artist like him would be very worried if he didn’t manage to find his sketchbook”** he smirked at his companion

 **“Yeah, like the sketchbook is the only thing that will have him worried”** Wayzz said with sarcasm as his Master laughed. It was true that most of the Miraculous Holders reacted the same way when they got their Miraculous.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Nathanael arrived late to school… Hurray!

Luckily for him, the teacher hadn’t arrived yet, so he managed to slip into his place without problem.  Everybody was there: Adrien, Alix, Kim, Nino… _Marinette_.

He really loved having his seat at the back of the class; he was able to see Marinette, Chloe was as far as she could get from him, and thanks to Ivan, nobody could see him draw… Speaking of drawing…

_‘…’_

_‘…’_

_‘The sketchbook!’_

_‘Where was my sketchbook?’_

_‘I swear I had it with me today!’_

**‘WHERE IS IT!?’**

**_‘WHERE!?!?’_ **

Those were just a tiny piece of the thoughts he had in his minds as he looked frantically in his backpack for it. That sketchbook contained most of his life and his favorite’s drawing.

He recalled all he had done until he arrived at the school. He had woken up, talked with his _parents,_ walked to the school, saved Mr. Fu, arrived to school…

Saved Mr. Fu! He had dropped his sketchbook when he had tackled the old man! Maybe if he was fast enough he could get to is sketchbook before the teacher…

 **“Good morning, class”** Ms. Mendeleiev spoke as she entered to the classroom, followed by a chorus of ‘Good morning, Ms. Mendeleiev’. All of his hopes to get his sketchbook back were gone in a flash. _POOF_! Adieu…

 **“Today’s lesson is all about Organic Chemistry and its Functional Groups. Can someone give an example of one of its functional groups?”** she said with her hands on her back, showing and demanding respect.  A pair of hands went up into the air, but Ms. Mendeleiev looked disappointed and ignored the volunteers **“Just two people? How sad, I was expecting more… Well, then… Chloe, name me a Functional Group”**

 **“M-Me? But that’s unfair! Why not someone less important like Mari-nerd?”** Chloe complained and huffed the teacher looked at her with a look on her face that said ‘Why do I even try’

 **“Nice one, Chloe”** praised Sabrina as she noted the nickname in her notebook

**“Well, Ms. Bourgeois. In that case, I guess you wouldn’t mind if I take some points from your total grade and gave them to the next person to answer, who will be… Ms. Dupain-Cheng”**

**“Uhm, yes Ms. Mendeleiev?”** the raven-haired girl jumped in her place as she snapped from glancing at Adrien. Alya had to contain a laugh at this

 **“Name me an organic acid. Five bonus points if you answer correctly. Courtesy of Ms. Bourgeois.”** The teacher had a serious expression but you could feel a smirk under her whole demeanor, as Chloe’s face flushed red with anger.

 **“Uhm… Organic acids? Uhm, I guess the Benzoic Acid, maybe?”** It sounded more like a question than like an answer.

 **“Correct!”** Ms. Mendeleiev said with a pleasant smile **“How nice is to see people who are actually interested in the subject”** she commented, directed to the blonde more than anyone

 **“Now, as you know, Organic Chemistry studies the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds, which include the bla bla bla…”** Nathanael pretty much stopped paying attention after she said _‘compounds’_. He had already read the book, so he didn’t need to pay too much attention. Looking for a way to kill time, he let his mind wander a little.

He was so bored without something to drawn and there was no way he was going to draw on his text book. He had rules. No sketchbook, no drawing.

Inevitably, his thought went over his parents and how where they doing in Cairo with the dumb of Addai _´Keep it down Nathanael, he is just a tourist. He doesn’t have the blame your parents are in a nice vacation without you in Egypt’_ he had to remind himself.

He went back into reality, just as the teacher finished her speech about the subject **“…range of application of organic compounds is enormous and also includes, but is not limited to, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food, explosives, paints, and cosmetics.”**

Then she eyed the redhead, with a proud glare like saying ‘I got you’

 **“Now, if Mr. Levesque was kind enough of summary what I just said. Otherwise, I’ll see myself on the obligation of removing some points of your final grade. Do I have to remind you that you are in danger of failing this subject, too?”** The purple haired woman said and suddenly every pair of eyes in the classroom was on him.

 **“Okay… Organic Chemistry… She was explaining the basic… C’mon, you already read the book, just give her a short summary”** He muttered under his breath, his face flushing red as everybody expected him to lose this one.

 **“Mr. Levesque, I’m waiting for your answer…”** the teacher said impatiently with her arms crossed

**“I…I… The organic chemistry…”**

**“A shame, Mr. Nathanael. And here I was hoping that for once you had put attention to the class”** she said disappointed, like she had given up on him, which she had done a long time ago

But Nathanael was having none of it. He took a deep breath **“Organic chemistry is the study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds, which include not only hydrocarbons but also compounds with any number of other elements, including hydrogen nitrogen, oxygen, halogens, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur. This branch of chemistry was originally limited to compounds produced by living organisms but has been broadened to include human-made substances such as plastics. The range of application of organic compounds is enormous and also includes, but is not limited to, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food, explosives, paints, and cosmetics.”** He quickly answered with his head down, to avoid his classmates seeing him blushing even harder than before.

Some people had a confused look on their faces, meanwhile some others were just with their mouth hanging open. And a certain blonde girl was looking at him as if he had just grown a second head

 **“Impressive…”** Ms. Mendeleiev said with a shocked face **“However, I asked for a summary, not a full lesson. Feel lucky I’m not taking any points from you this time”** she said with a smug smile on her face.

 **“What. A. Freak.”** Chloe half-muttered, half-shouted uninterested as he looked at her nails, cleaning a non-existent molecule of dust from them. She too, hadn’t being paying attention. Instead, she had been on her cellphone most of the time and bickering with Sabrina.

 **“I don’t think Nathanael is a freak.”** Marinette said loud enough for him to hear. Needless to say, he blushed even harder than before and now they all had an excuse for calling him Tomato Boy

Thankfully, Ms. Mendeleiev wasn’t the kind of teacher who tolerated insults in her class **“Chloe Bourgeois, do I have to repeat it? I won’t tolerate any kind of bullying in this classroom. Not even if you’re the Mayor’s daughter. Make another mistake and I’ll send you with the principal Damocles”** Chloe groaned at this, but to her credit managed to keep quiet. Alya meanwhile, was snickering along with Nino.

 **“Now class, for the next project you’ll be working in groups of four. Don’t worry, I already assembled your teams. Chloe, Kim, Alix and Sabrina, you’ll be together. Adrien, Nathanael, Marinette and Lila you too will be working together…** A pregnant silence followed after that, where most of the classmates glanced at the brown-haired girl, who just chose to ignore them. It wasn’t until Chloe spoke, that most of the tension evaporated in the air

 **“MY ADRIKINS!? WITH HER?!”** She squealed and pointed with horrified face at the Italian girl, who just growled at her **“AND HER?!”** She then pointed at Marinette with unadulterated loathing **“This is unfair! I would work way better with him on _my_ team. You can take Alya if you want. She is overrated”** She spoke with that fancy tone of hers.

Alya frowned and was about to reply something to her, probably about how she was the overrated one and make a sassy comeback when the teacher beat her to it. **“I didn’t put Mr. Agreste in your team, since he would be a distraction for you. I trust that Ms. Cesaire is more than enough to help you finish this project, which is worth fifty percent of your grade. Is that reason enough Ms. Bourgeois?”**

Chloe didn’t make another comment. Alya looked proud of herself even though she had to put up with Chloe

**“Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Ivan… Max, Aurora, Mireille and Nino. Those would be your teams during two weeks or if I’m in the mood, for the rest of the scholar year”**

A chorus of groans was heard from the many tables around

 **“Now, now, stop complaining, go to your teams and open your notebooks. I’ll be giving you the instructions for this project. Needless to say, I’m expecting the best of you”** The Ms. Mendeleiev said as she wrote the instructions in the board behind her. Adrien, Marinette and Lila took their places on the back of the classroom, were Nathanael was trying to blend with the background by blushing until he was as red as his hair ‘Keep calm! Is just Marinette… and probably Ladybug too. Just don’t lose your cool… Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, breath in…’

 **“Hi Nath!”** Marinette said cheerfully with a warm smile, followed by Adrien and a simple **‘Hi’** from Lila. She probably didn’t have the energy to discuss and complain after she turned into an akuma again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Time passed and soon the day was over. Today was surprisingly normal, no Akumas flying in the air, Chloe was complaining about everything (She didn’t bother him for the rest of the day, which was good). But Nathanael could only think of one thing right now, and that thing was his sketchbook.

It was one of his most valuables possessions and he had lost it. Granted, he had saved Mr. Fu’s life, but still, it made him sad. The fact that either somebody had his drawings, or that they were rotting in a dumpster somewhere in Paris. All his life and important artworks were on it and even with his photographic memory; it would take weeks to replace them. And even then, it wouldn’t be the same; they would be a copy of the original.

As his house came into view, his pace became more erratic and faster. All he wanted to do right then was to get to his bed, and sleep or cry. Whichever came first.

He tried to open his door, failing a handful of times before the lock finally gave in and throwed his backpack into his couch without a care in the world, as he climbed the stairs and opened his bedroom. The light-green room was different from the other rooms in his house.

Whereas the others were storing his paintings, empty canvas, his dad music instruments and his art materials; his room was by far more organized and clean. A twin-sized bed, some bookshelves where he had his Art and Music books; a desk where he could do his homework with his laptop, a closet and a window from where he could see the street. A wooden floor was all over the ground, making it look more nature-like.

At the sight of his bedroom Nathanael suspired. (He had never been fond of the color green, but he had warmed up to it) and proceeded to plop himself directly into his bed, lay prone and make himself comfortable.

This was the only place in the world where he could relax and be himself. Where he could be as shy, as artistic and as happy as he wanted. He didn’t need to worry if Chloe or somebody saw him drawing. Everything here was his, from the paintings hanging on his walls, to the many Jagged Stone’s posters hanging around, and from the books and happy photos, to the desk and the sketchbook and that weird black box on it...

Wait a moment…

**SKETCHBOOK!?**

The redheaded boy literally jumped out of his bed and into his desk like his life depended of it and saw that, in fact, his sketchbook was there, under a tiny black box. He discarded the last one for now, his sketchbook was more important. Everything was there; not a single drawing had been destroyed or damaged. Somebody had left it here, since he was pretty sure he had lost it on the street

‘And whoever that was, is probably still in his house’ he thought. His eyes widened at this and with his book under his armpit (He wasn’t going to lose it again), he explored his house to find the one that had brought his sketchbook back home. He searched every bedroom, the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, but he didn’t search in the attic… He had seen enough horror movies to know how it would end.

After being sure that nobody was in his house, he went back to his bedroom and locked tight his room. He had his sketchbook back and nothing else mattered; he even got a nice black box with it!

But he wasn’t even going to open it. Who knows what was inside of it, maybe a venomous spider? Or a deadly virus? Maybe one of those pins he mother liked to use so much and he loathed so much?

Although it certainly was making him really curious to see what was inside of it… ‘Oh, c’mon! You can’t leave a box in my room and expect me not to open it!’ a tiny voice said in his mind. And immediately he had made his decision

 **“Uhm, if anybody can hear me, I’m going to open this weird box now”** he shouted, trying one last time to make sure nobody else was with him in his house.  

Yep. He was alone in this ‘little house’ of his…

His cautiously grabbed the tiny box and examined it. It was a simple hexagonal black box, like the ones people used on jewelry. Maybe a gift from Alix? Or a joke? He had given her a key for his house for emergencies so… maybe she had found his sketchbook! He was so going to thank her tomorrow at school. She would be in her Hero’s list, just below Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Seeing that he had nothing to lose with it, he opened the box, fully expecting for a spring to bounce out of it with a note inside, saying that he had to be more careful with his sketchbook. It was typical of her to be like that.

What he did not expect, was a nice-looking orange necklace.

And sure as hell, he wasn’t expecting the blinding ball of orange light that formed before his very own eyes before he could appreciate the necklace more. It was so strong that he had to cover his eyes to avoid any damage. ‘Was Alix using flashlights for her pranks now!? He knew about her father’s clock and all, but this was taking pranks to a whole new level’ He tripped on his feet and fell to the ground on his butt, dropping the necklace as he did so and tried to understand what was going on.

The light died down to reveal… a fox? Or at least it looked like it. It had a bigger head than its body, with a pair of fluffy fox’s ears, long whiskers, a tiny snouth with a black nose and brownish-yellowish eyes. A big patch of white fur was in its belly meanwhile most of his body was of an orange color, except for its paws and legs, which were of an slightly dark brown . It had a long and fluffy orange fox tail with a white end, which was swinging back and forth in excitement. A big smile on the creature face as he looked on its surroundings

 **“I’M FINALLY FREE!”** he yelled as it giggled like crazy. It had a childish tone mixed with tons of mischievousness. Nathanael was pretty much solid frozen at this point; he couldn’t even speak. There was a floating fox in his house, which could speak and had come out from a freaking necklace. That was it, he had gone mad. He could imagine the headline: **‘Art student gone mad. It’s painting a good way to raise your children?’**

He shook his thoughts away and tried to snap from his frozen stand, just to fail pathetically. It was then when the fox-like creature noticed his presence and his smile became even bigger **“You must be Nathanael! C’mon, use the necklace! I haven’t seen the world in so long!”**

When the creature noticed the terrified expression on Nathanael’s face, his childish demeanor was replaced by understatement. He definitely knew what was going to happen **“Ohh…”** he said **“DON’T YELL!”** he raised it paws in a surrender manner.

Too late for it

Nathanael let loose a horrifying scream (Which sounded rather girlish for his taste. Not that he’ll never admit it) as he proceeded to throw everything he had in sight to the creature.

Brushes? He didn’t think twice.

Paint? He could always get more.

Chemistry textbook? He hated Chemistry anyway.

An empty canvas? He sent it flying and the freaking fox passed through it!

 **“Please calm down! It wasn’t my intention to startle you…”** he started saying as it dodged, but soon it was giggling like a maniac and asking for more **“Hey! This is rather fun”** And he started laughing like if it was a game, dodging everything the redhead launched at him.

He was starting to get low on ammunition as he produced a carton box from under his desk. Without a doubt he launched himself into the creature and captured it inside the box, locking it upside down so it couldn’t escape and took a seat over it just to be sure.

 **“HEY! Who turned off the lights?!”** the tiny fox complained **“You better let me out right now!”** But Nathanael decided to ignore it as he tried to understand what the hell had exactly happened. With his face buried on his hands, he groaned ‘Why did this kind of things happened to him?’

 **“I WON’T! I’m calling the police!”** Although, now that he thought of it, he couldn’t say that a talking flying fox was in his house and he had trapped it under a carton box. They would consider him a mad person (If he wasn’t mad already)

 **“Please, let me out! I’m claustrophobic!”** the fox said from inside the box, sounding a little bit scared. **“I can’t breathe… Please… I don’t want to be here**!” He was freaking out and Nathanael was feeling slightly worried. He sounded so sincere… maybe he was actually claustrophobic.

‘Can foxes be claustrophobic?’ he thought

 **“Please…”** a deep breath was heard from inside the box **“Just a little bit of air! That’s all I’m asking for!”** Nathanael tried to ignore it a little bit more until the fox started hyperventilating. The redhead couldn’t stand it anymore and frantically lifted the box. Immediately the fox-like creature came out flying and started laughing. **“You really fell for that? Gods, we have to work in your lying lessons!”**

Nathanael could only stand there, looking at the carton box in his hands and deeply considering trapping the creature inside of it again. Now that he was calmer and the shock from the first sight had left him, he was able to form a coherent question **“What are you?”**

 **“Oh, I haven’t presented myself! I’m Nooah, your kwami!”** he said as he floated around looking at the room of the redhead. **“Nice burrow you have. I could get used to this”** and he plopped into the bed and curled on himself with his tail covering him. He let out a sight **“Ah, so comfy”**

Nathanael completely ignored the fact that a fox named Nooah was snuggling on his bed and continued asking questions **“Okay? Now, let’s take this slowly… What is a kwami?”** Nathanael asked, hoping that an explanation was enough for him to get used to the creature. This time without the cartn box in his hands

 **“I’m a god that gives you powers.”** He talked through his tail, his voice sounding slightly muffled

 **“Powers? Like Ladybug or Chat’s powers?”** the artist was slightly curious. Were creatures like this one the ones that gave their powers to the heroes of Paris? Were they different?

At the name of them, the fox perked his ears up with a surprised expression **“Tikki and Plagg are already out?!”** the kwami, now known as Nooah asked with a small grin and then did a small loop in the air **“The fun I’ll have with those two! I’ve been planning pranks ever since I had my last owner!”**

 **“Hey, I’m sorry for snapping you from your fantasy little guy, but you must be wrong. This…”** he gestured to himself **“Isn’t hero material.”**

 **“Of course you are! That’s why you were chosen!”** He tried to explain at the human

 **“Chosen? Chosen by whom?”** he narrowed his eyes at the fox. Maybe the one who had left the box inside his house could help him to understand more… or find another owner for the tiny fox

Nooah widened his eyes at this. He didn’t know who had given him to the boy.

He knew it was a guardian of course; he or she had been able to read his energy. But the last guardian he had known was a young woman from the medieval age. And by now, she was probably dead

 **“I-I don’t really know”** he admitted with all honesty **“I’ve been inside that necklace for so long that I lost the track of time”** he said with a sad smile. Nathanael could relate with him. Nooah must have been lonely on there with no one to talk or be with.

 **“Okay, so you are stuck with me. And I’m bound to be a hero”** He listed to the fox, looking for something he had forgotten

 **“Don’t forget the fact that you can’t tell anyone about this. You know…”** he waved his paw awkwardly **“Secret identity to keep and all, unless you want someone getting hurt”**

 **“So, are you up to the task?”** Nooah said with that childish tone of his **“It’s not like you can get rid of me anyway. I’m supposed to make you company since you’re my owner from now on”** Was he supposed to be with him forever? Maybe… maybe he was the friend he waited for all this time... Somebody to talk about your problems and that wasn’t Alix, Juleka or Rose. Somebody different who wouldn’t judge him.

Nathanael was deep in thought. Here was a chance that he was sure everybody would love to have. He could be a hero along with Chat Noir and Ladybug

He could be loved by every citizen in Paris

He could save the lives of the innocent

He could finally be the hero from the story, like he had wanted before he had ben akumatized

But, at what price?

He had to think about it. Nothing comes for free and he was pretty sure that the price for being a hero was pretty high.

Nooah saw the different emotions crossing his owner’s face and felt pity for the poor human.

 **“Look, I understand what you’re going on.”** the kwami reassured him with a soft tone **“You were chosen to carry a big responsibility that you didn’t even want. Probably for the rest of your life”** he muttered the last part

 **“And now you are thinking about the ups and downs that being a hero has to offer. But I can assure, you that if you were chosen for the job; it’s because that there is no one else that is better suited for me than you”** He explained as he grabbed the necklace from the floor and left it next to him, for Nathanael to consider.

 **“Just… think about it, please”** he pleaded **“I’m not going anywhere without you”**

 **“I- I just need time to think. Preferably alone”** he said and the kwami left him alone to his thoughts

 **“I could be a hero…”** he said under his breath as if the mere idea was impossible and out of reach. But here it was his chance

A hero…

**Author's Note:**

> *This is a work in progress, so feel welcome to leave any advice. Everything is useful as long as it helps me to improve my writing 
> 
> Atte. Me :)


End file.
